W&M's Serghi to Perform at Carnegie Hall

Sophia Serghi, Associate Professor of Music at William & Mary, will present a new series of her original compositions at Carnegie Hall on December 7, 2010 at 8:00pm. Joining her will be her friends and playing partners of 15 years, the famous FLUX String Quartet. In 2009, they combined to perform her unique blend of Byzantine and rock'n roll at the Kennedy Center.

The concert is co-sponsored by the College and the government of Cyprus. Serghi is citizen of the United States and Cyprus.

It will not be the first time she has performed at Carnegie Hall, but it's been a long time. "The first time I played Carnengie I was 15, " she said. "And that was my first time on stage. What's really funny is that I haven't been back on stage at Carnegie in 22 years."

Serghi has a long list of honors and awards, among them: Fulbright and Presidental scholars (1990-1994), the Cheney (1992-1993) and Rena Ratte (1994) awards at Lewis and Clark College, the Mellon Fellowship (1994-1998), and the Edna and Boris Rapoport Prize (1995) at Columbia University. Also included are first prizes in the Cyprus State Orchestra (1997, for "Kavo Greko"), the Athens Concert Hall Greek Composers (1998, for "Sizzle") and the American Composers Orchestra Whittaker award (1999, "Panegyric") competitions.

Many ensembles and orchestras have performed her music, including the American Composers Orchestra, the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet, the Chilingirian String Quartet, the Cyprus State Orchestra, Duo Palmos, Ensemble Sizzle, and the Greek Contemporary Music Ensemble. The Haifa Symphony Orchestra, The Nash Ensemble, the Orchestra of Colors, Speculum Musicae, and Trio Athene have also performed her works.

Serghi has written music for multi-media productions including an Opera "The Noah's-a Climatic Tale" at Theatre Pompoen in Amsterdam, several theatre productions with the Cyprus National Theatre Company, feature films and documentaries.

"One of the most fearless and important new-music ensembles around," praised Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle. They have "brought a new renaissance to quartet music," added Kyle Gann of The Village Voice.